Program areas Integrated Water Resources Management Uganda is endowed with significant amounts of freshwater open-water bodies and underground aquifers. Wetlands, rivers and lakes constitute 18.2% of the total land cover (241,038km2). The country has for a long time received bi-modal rainfall that averages 1375mm of rainfall annually.
Sometimes, it can be as much as 2000mm of rainfall. As a result, several areas have registered flood conditions that have affected farms, human settlements, water and road infrastructure and livelihoods of people. Consequently, many Ugandans take water for granted with the conviction that it will always be available.
However, with changing climate, declining water bodies (rivers, lakes, swamps & aquifers), and changing and unpredictable rainfall patterns; this conviction is slowly, but surely becoming a myth.
Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is a process which can assist countries in their quest to deal with water issues in a cost-effective and sustainable way. It is important to manage water, because all life and sectors of the economy depend on it and water is continuously being recharged, used, returned and reused. However, there are some places/ habitats/ environments where this cycle is constrained, interrupted or completely absent.
ECO is committed to promoting IWRM principles to enhance water resources management among underserved communities and degraded water catchments and critical ecosystems. ECO’s water and sanitation initiative enables the organisation to improve community health by providing access to safe and clean water and Uganda is a largely rural country with ample water resources. It is estimated that 70 percent of the urban population lack access to sanitation facilities and more than 90 percent of the rural populations are in the same situation.